Bands that Defined Rock Music in India

by Anisha PeterApril 24, 2015

Some bands from the 90's really set the ball rolling for the kind of acceptance that Indie music receives in India today. They did what they loved and in the process paved a way for more and more musicians to follow their dreams.

Here are two such bands that have created the biggest impact and who absolutely deserve our love and respect. Read on to know more about them and be inspired!

Indus Creed

Formerly known as the Rock Machine, this band came together in the year 1984. Based in Mumbai, they started out as a cover band that played songs by some of the greatest rock acts like Deep Purple, The Who etc. When they started composing their songs, they gained a lot of popularity across India. They recorded their first studio album Rock'n'Roll Renegade in 1988 which is considered India’s first all-original rock album.

Indus Creed has toured internationally doing several shows and receiving a lot of recognition for their work. They’ve shared stage with International artists like Bon Jovi and Slash of Guns n Roses. The band split in the year 1997 when its members decided to take on other music projects, but got back in 2008. Although their line-up has seen several changes over the years, they are together even today, performing regularly at various venues and creating some great music. The current members of the band are Uday Benegal on Vocals, Mahesh Tinaikar and Gaurav Gupta on Guitars and Vocals, Zubin Balaporia on keyboards Krishna Jhaveri on bass and Jai Row Kavi on drums.

Indian Ocean

This band probably doesn’t need too much of an introduction. I’m sure most of us have grown up listening to their music that really took over the radio waves at one point. Their songs ‘Bhandey’ and ‘Khandisa’ are some of their most famous tracks amongst others. Indian Ocean's music can be defined as Alternate rock with hints of folk and sufi music. They started their journey in 1990 when Sushmit Sen and Ashim Chakravarthy were introduced to each other at a concert. Things really took off for the band when in 1997 the band played at the SAMHAT concert to an enthusiastic audience that loved their music. The band recorded the entire concert on a recorder and started a label called ‘Independent Music’ to release and distribute their tape. Desert Rain did extremely well and became a revolutionary album in the Indian music scene. Thus began their journey and the band hasn’t stopped ever since!

Indian Ocean is the result of the passion that Asheem Chakravarty, Amit Kilam, Rahul Ram, Susmit Sen and Nikhil Rao share together. If you haven’t watched Indian Ocean live, then I strongly suggest that you do. You’ll be inspired to say the least, and take back an experience of a life time!

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